Ethical AI Use Guidelines

These guidelines help organizations use AI responsibly, protecting stakeholders while capturing value.

Core Principles

1. Transparency

People should know when AI is involved in decisions that affect them.

Disclose AI use in customer-facing applications

Make AI decision criteria explainable

Don't pretend AI outputs are human-generated

Document AI use in internal processes

2. Human Accountability

AI is a tool. Humans are responsible for its use.

Every AI system needs a human owner

Humans review AI decisions that matter

Accountability can't be delegated to machines

"The AI did it" is not an excuse

3. Fairness

AI should not perpetuate or amplify bias.

Audit AI outputs for biased patterns

Test with diverse inputs and scenarios

Monitor for disparate impact

Be especially careful with decisions affecting people's lives

4. Privacy

AI must respect data privacy and consent.

Only use data you have permission to use

Minimize data collection to what's necessary

Protect data used in AI systems

Don't use AI to infer sensitive information

5. Beneficence

AI should create more value than harm.

Consider who benefits and who might be harmed

Weight benefits against risks honestly

Don't deploy AI just because you can

Prioritize stakeholder wellbeing

Guidelines by Use Case

Customer-Facing AI

Chatbots and Virtual Assistants

Disclose that customers are interacting with AI

Provide easy escalation to humans

Don't collect unnecessary personal data

Monitor for inappropriate responses

Recommendations and Personalization

Be transparent about what drives recommendations

Allow users to control their preferences

Don't manipulate users toward harmful choices

Avoid filter bubbles and echo chambers

Automated Decisions

Explain how decisions are made

Provide meaningful appeal processes

Audit for bias regularly

Keep humans in the loop for consequential decisions

Internal Operations AI

Process Automation

Document what is being automated and why

Maintain human oversight of critical processes

Have rollback plans for failures

Consider impact on employees

Data Analysis

Ensure data is used appropriately

Don't draw conclusions beyond what data supports

Be transparent about confidence levels

Remember correlation isn't causation

Content Generation

Review AI-generated content before publishing

Disclose when content is AI-assisted

Verify facts and claims

Maintain your authentic voice

Red Lines

These uses of AI should be avoided entirely:

Never Use AI To:

Deceive — Creating fake identities, deepfakes, or deliberately misleading content

Manipulate — Exploiting psychological vulnerabilities or dark patterns

Discriminate — Making decisions based on protected characteristics

Surveil — Monitoring people without knowledge or consent

Replace critical judgment — Using AI for decisions requiring human ethics

Harm — Any use intended to cause damage to people or organizations

High-Risk Uses Requiring Extra Scrutiny:

Employment decisions (hiring, firing, promotions)

Financial decisions (lending, insurance, pricing)

Healthcare decisions (diagnosis, treatment, coverage)

Legal decisions (bail, sentencing, parole)

Access decisions (housing, education, services)

Implementation Checklist

Before deploying any AI:

Planning Phase

Purpose is clearly defined

Stakeholder impact is assessed

Risks are identified and mitigated

Ethical concerns are addressed

Human oversight is planned

Development Phase

Data is ethically sourced

Bias testing is completed

Privacy protections are implemented

Transparency features are included

Documentation is comprehensive

Deployment Phase

Users are informed about AI use

Feedback mechanisms are in place

Monitoring is active

Escalation paths are clear

Rollback is ready if needed

Ongoing Operations

Regular audits are scheduled

Performance is monitored for drift

User feedback is collected and reviewed

Updates are made responsibly

Incidents are learned from

When In Doubt

Ask these questions:

Would I be comfortable if this AI use were public?

Would I want this AI making decisions about me?

Who could be harmed, and is that acceptable?

Are we being honest about what this AI does?

Do we have meaningful human oversight?

If any answer makes you uncomfortable, reconsider the approach.

Resources

Develop internal AI ethics review process

Train team on responsible AI use

Create incident reporting mechanism

Stay current on AI ethics developments

Engage with affected communities

Ethical AI Use Guidelines